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ZERO-WASTE EVENT A SUCCESS ell, this year's July 4th Picnic at Memory Square Park was almost "zero-waste" considering that 85% of all the disposed materials were recycled and not sent to a landfill! The photo below shows all the refuse collected at the event. Only the four small trash containers to the far right contained unrecyclable trash that went to the landfill. All the other larger containers held materials that were sent for recycling. That's a large volume of material that stayed out of the landfill and a great contribution by the residents of Louisville! The collected food scraps, cardboard, and paper products were sent to A-1 Organics Recycling in Golden, for reprocessing into compost. Believe it or not— even discarded hot dogs and brats are composted at A-1, as the volume of material they handle is so large. The collected cans and bottles (metal, glass, and plastic) were sent to the Boulder County Recycling Center for sorting and final shipment to commercial recyclers. The members of the Resource Conservation Advisory Board want to thank several people who made it possible for us to try this "zero-waste" idea. First, our thanks to Eco-Cycle of Boulder County and to Matt Mader and his Eco-Cycle volunteers. They provided the large blue containers we used in the park for collection of all the refuse, and the hauling service after the event. Their volunteers helped show people where to dispose of the different types of refuse and they hauled away the full collection bags. Our thanks to the Boulder County Resource Conservation Division's Community Outreach Program, which provided the grant funds used to offset City of Louisville costs for this zero-waste event. Our special thanks to all of you Louisville residents who came to the July 4th Picnic! You were the ones who had to make the extra effort necessary to make the zero-waste idea actually work. It would have been easier for you to throw all your trash into one bin on your way out of the park and just forget about it. But everyone who came to our disposal bins —adults and kids —made a point to put their trash in the appropriate bins for the most recycling possible. Almost all the comments our volunteers heard from you were very supportive of the zero- waste program. We would like to expand the zero-waste process to more City-sponsored events in the future. It will take some time to work out the means to do so, at the least cost, and with the least extra effort/labor needed to achieve maximum waste diversion. But with such positive public response as we had at this year's July 4th Picnic, we're sure we can make the zero-waste idea work even better, and reduce the amount of trash that goes to the landfill. Thanks again! ` Zero-Waste Event Results _. -, { , Louisville July Fourth Celebration 2004 Sponsored by the Louisville Resource C o rise r va o r Ad viso)y Board V 13.1 I 1 I la I ill!tM r _ iUHF I WI 161.111.111111.11111111101P"01111011-ii1.11111111111.L.-""g 4 Waste dive recyc ins are• compost Trash: „„.... a-g-;;.... 84% of total. 16% of total. August/September 2004 13